Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Finish Lower After House Passes Tax Bill

Stocks on Wall Street moved lower Wednesday, Dec. 20, after the U.S. Senate passed a sweeping tax-overhaul bill in the early hours of the day, and the House passed the measure again on Wednesday afternoon.

The bill now goes to Donald Trump, who is expected to sign the measure before Christmas.

FedEx Corp. (FDX) shares were up 3.5% after the shipping company on Tuesday reported higher quarterly profit due to increased volumes. The company posted second-quarter net income of $775 million, or $2.84 a share, up from $700 million, or $2.59, a year earlier.

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) shares gained 4% on Wednesday after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings after the bell on Tuesday. The company reported an increase of 71.4% in net sales to $6.8 billion in the three months to Nov. 30, beating estimates of $6.41 billion.

General Mills Inc. (GIS) reported adjusted earnings of 82 cents a share in its fiscal second quarter, which was in line with analysts' expectations but down 4% from the previous year. The stock rose 1.9%.

Existing-home sales in the U.S. rose 5.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.81 million, the best since 2006. Economists expected existing-home sales to decline 0.7% in November.

Oil prices in the U.S. gained 0.7% to $57.95 a barrel after the Energy Information Administration said crude inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 15, wider than a decrease of 3.8 million barrels that analysts predicted.